Everything stops for these Teapots!

These highly original teapots from ceramicist Ray Bub are absolutely amazing!  I’ve never seen anything quite like these before. The artist has really thought out some of them: others seem to have evolved: he seems to have just gone with gone with creative  flow (so to speak).  The results are amazing.  This one (above) is full of fluidity and

Lobster armed woman alert

It’s that time again, so this will be a quick one.  I went out yesterday and sat in the sun, foolishly with no sun factor on…. and ended up with two bright red forearms!  How daft am I?  I wouldn’t mind, but I’m always careful to put protection on.  I wore factor 50 when I

Happy Birthday Dear Rubens!

Today is the birthday of Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens (b. 1577 – 1640).  The style he is known for is Baroque.  He painted mostly religious subjects for commission, also historical subjects. Rubens is famous for his altar pieces and his love of painting large women.  His celebration of the fuller figured woman  became known

The Triple the Echo, the Double the Pleasure

Now usually, there’s absolutely nothing worth watching on the TV, but then just like the proverbial buses – TWO turn up at the same time lol!  That’s not strictly true: I got to watch both films completely, they didn’t overlap.  The films I am taking about though are pretty old films and I have seen

Mad about Teapots? Mad is good!

  Just look at this mad teapot from ceramicist Steve Benezue!  No I’m not being rude! that’s what the artist calls them – mad!  I just LOVE the way that these have just evolved!!!  There’s more here Hello hello hello?  What’s all this then?  That’s never a teapot is it?  You’re talking out of your hat

Art I LOVE: Frank Meadow Sutcliffe, – A Bygone way of Life

I have always  loved these sepia photographs by Victorian Frank Meadow Sutcliffe (b. 1853 – 1941).  I have several  framed prints.  Although posed, there is a certain lack of self consciousness in a lot of these photographs.   It did help that Sutcliffe actually knew these villagers.  The fisher people are  my favorite portraits.  The character of these people shine  through their

There’s Nothing Romantic about Romanticism, or is there? Conclusion Goya’s ‘The 3rd of May 1808’

Part one two three Conclusion ‘3rd of May 1808 ‘ by Francisco de Goya The key belief of Romanticism was the value of individual experience and individualism.  What characterised the Romantic period was the heroic view of the human struggle.  Romanticism brought to the forefront the human struggle against the violent forces of nature.  The

There’s nothing Romantic about Romanticism or is there? part three

Continuing from part one part two The English Landscape painter John Constable (1776 – 1837) also had a hard time with regards to his art being taken seriously.  He tried to gain respectability for Landscape painting,  trying to get it accepted as a proper subject matter.   “I should paint my own places best –  painting